The Akazaya Nine of the Kozuki Clan were legendary figures twenty years ago, celebrated across the seas. Kozuki Oden, their leader, had been a man so extraordinary that even Whitebeard and Roger vied for him. But twenty years later, with Oden's death and the fall of the Kozuki Clan, the fame of the Akazaya Nine had faded into obscurity.
Just like the once-mighty Rocks Pirates, whose name had almost disappeared from history, the Akazaya Nine were now remembered only in the context of Wano's suffering. If Kurozumi Orochi hadn't plunged Wano into misery, their names might have been forgotten entirely. Had Orochi been slightly more cunning in his rule, the Akazaya Nine would have been relegated to the annals of forgotten history.
Back on Earth, Daniel Davis had read many accounts of people admiring Kozuki Oden and the Akazaya Nine, but he himself felt indifferent. He neither liked nor disliked them. Much of Oden's "legendary" status seemed to stem from his identity as the son of Wano's daimyo, not from his actions alone. Without that lineage, Oden's reckless behavior might have been dismissed as that of a wandering ronin.
"Looks like he's one of Wano's samurai," Ada commented softly, observing the battle between Akame and Kin'emon from the sidelines.
Ada's group knew well what Shusui, the black blade, represented—it was one of Wano's national treasures. But that knowledge didn't make them inclined to hold back. If this had been Luffy's crew, perhaps they would have hesitated or tried to reason with Kin'emon, but Akame and her companions wouldn't.
The current state of Wano reminded Akame and the others far too much of their former empire—a corrupt and oppressive regime. To them, Wano's samurai were no different from the empire's nobles. Under this mindset, Akame and her group harbored no illusions about the nobility of Wano's warriors.
In both Kozuki Oden's era and Kurozumi Orochi's, Wano's samurai enjoyed significant privileges. The difference lay only in who held power.
"You despicable grave robbers!" Kin'emon's voice was laced with fury as he accused Akame. His expression darkened as he struggled to defeat the "thieves" holding Wano's sacred treasure, Shusui. Flames roared along the edge of his sword as he unleashed his Foxfire-style swordsmanship in full force.
As one of the Akazaya Nine, Kin'emon's blade was no ordinary weapon. Though it wasn't one of the twelve supreme-grade swords, it was among the twenty-one great-grade blades, comparable to Akame's Shusui.
Despite his position as one of the Akazaya Nine and his considerable skill, Kin'emon was far from the level of Mihawk or other top-tier swordsmen. He wasn't even on par with Vista, the Flower Sword. His strength, while respectable, fell short when compared to true masters.
Unfortunately for Kin'emon, his opponent was Akame, whose skill and experience surpassed his own. Initially, Akame had intended to explain herself. However, faced with Kin'emon's relentless aggression, insults, and killing intent, she quickly abandoned that idea.
To Akame, anyone who tried to kill her was an enemy. While she had made allies out of former foes like Esdeath, Kin'emon would not receive the same opportunity. His attitude—arrogant and dismissive—sealed his fate.
If Kin'emon had been more like Zoro, willing to respect an opponent after recognizing their strength, things might have been different. But his disdain for Akame as a woman, coupled with his inherent pride as a samurai, made diplomacy impossible. In Wano's patriarchal society, women were often seen as lesser, unless they were of high status like Kozuki Toki or Hiyori.
Akame shifted her stance, her black blade Shusui gleaming with a chilling light. Her chakra-like energy ceased flowing through the blade, and her breathing pattern altered—she entered Thunder Breathing form. In an instant, six identical clones of Akame appeared around Kin'emon, each poised to strike.
"Ninjutsu?!" Kin'emon exclaimed, startled by the sudden appearance of the clones. His sword flared with intense flames as he slashed outward, creating a ring of fire around him. The fiery barrier consumed the clones, causing them to vanish.
For a moment, Kin'emon hesitated. While he looked down on women as combatants, his instincts warned him that his opponent wasn't ordinary. He activated his Observation Haki, trying to pinpoint Akame's location.
Before he could react, a sharp pain erupted in his chest. Akame's black blade had pierced through his heart from behind.
Kin'emon staggered, his breath hitching as he looked down at the blade protruding from his chest. The next moment, the sword was withdrawn, and he turned his head to see Akame materializing out of thin air behind him, her cold eyes locked on his fading form.
"Y-you… sorcery…" Kin'emon gasped, collapsing to the ground.
Akame had not used magic but the power of the Clear-Clear Fruit. By creating decoys to distract her target, she had cloaked herself in invisibility and struck when Kin'emon least expected it.
In Wano, where knowledge of Devil Fruits was limited, abilities like these were often mistaken for witchcraft. Ironically, Kin'emon himself was a Devil Fruit user, possessing the Garb-Garb Fruit, though its abilities were mostly utility-based.
Though Kin'emon's wound would have been fatal to most, the inherent durability of those in the One Piece world gave him a slim chance of survival. However, Akame's mastery of Armament Haki ensured her blade not only pierced his heart but also destroyed his internal organs, leaving no room for recovery.
In the One Piece world, Armament Haki had multiple levels: hardening, imbuing, projection, and finally, internal destruction—the most advanced form. Akame's training with her companions had honed her skills to this pinnacle.
With Kin'emon's lifeless body on the ground, Akame sheathed her blade and used Shusui to carve a shallow grave. After burying him and his weapon, she rejoined her companions without another word. The group's attention then shifted to a large shadow approaching from the left.
A massive dragon flew overhead, its roar echoing across the desolate terrain of Punk Hazard.
The commotion from Akame and Kin'emon's battle had attracted the creature. While the island remained toxic, the dragon seemed unaffected.
To Luffy and his crew, encountering a dragon would have been a moment of excitement and awe. For Esdeath's group, however, it was nothing remarkable. In their world, dragons—both Eastern and Western variants—were merely a type of dangerous beast.
"I'll handle it," Kurome said when the others showed little interest. Using Moonwalk to leap into the air, she drew her blade and decapitated the dragon in a single, swift motion.
After leaving Punk Hazard, Esdeath's group caught the attention of Doflamingo's network of spies. When the information reached him, Doflamingo frowned, deep in thought.
"They're Warlords of the Sea, just like me. They haven't officially abandoned their titles, so they must still be working within the system. Could it be they're just wandering aimlessly?"
Doflamingo felt a twinge of unease but ultimately dismissed it. Esdeath's crew reminded him of the Red-Haired Pirates—powerful but seemingly disinterested in territorial expansion. For now, they didn't seem like an immediate threat.
Meanwhile, in a completely different world…
Esdeath's exploits in the pirate world had no bearing on Daniel Davis, who had ventured into yet another mysterious dimension.
Daniel stood amidst towering structures, their tops vanishing into the clouds. The architecture was unlike anything he had seen before. Buildings layered upon buildings, stacked to impossible heights. Even in the technologically advanced Marvel Universe, he had never encountered anything quite like this.
"This place… it feels familiar. Like a world I once explored under a different guise," Daniel muttered, scanning his surroundings.
The land below was barren, devoid of greenery. The ground was gray and lifeless, littered with remnants of civilization. He activated his Observation Haki, expanding his senses outward, but what he discovered left him stunned—there was no trace of life.
Daniel spent hours exploring, teleporting to various locations in hopes of finding something—anything—that wasn't dead. Yet every attempt yielded the same results: silence and decay.
"No plants, no animals, no humans… just ruins," Daniel murmured, his voice tinged with unease. "An entire world without life. Is this… an apocalypse?"
At one point, Daniel hovered over a high-rise platform, gazing at the lifeless cityscape. "This place's technology… the stacked cities… it's remarkable. But if there's no one left, what's the point?"
Finally, on the highest level of an enormous white structure, Daniel saw something that stopped him in his tracks. Two girls—teenagers no older than sixteen or seventeen—lay in the snow, huddled together under a thin blanket. Despite their smiles, their faces were pale, and their breaths were shallow.
"Chito… Yuri…" Daniel whispered, recognizing them immediately. "So, it is this world."
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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